Combination of body and striking plate for golf club head

ABSTRACT

A golf club head includes a body and a striking plate. The body includes a front side having a recessed portion. The striking plate includes a front side for striking golf balls and a rear side. At least one groove is defined in one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate. At least one plastic protrusion is formed on the other of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate. When assembling the striking plate and the body, the plastic protrusion deforms under pressure to form an engaging portion that is engaged in the groove, thereby securely engaging the striking plate with the body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a golf club head. In particular, the present invention relates to a combination of a body and a striking plate for a golf club head.

2. Description of Related Art

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional golf club head comprising a body 11 and a striking plate 12. The body 11 includes a recessed portion 13 in a front side thereof. The recessed portion 13 includes an annular flange 14 and a shoulder 15 outside the annular flange 14. The striking plate 12 is substantially U-shaped in section and includes an annular abutting section 16. In assembly, the annular abutting section 16 of the striking plate 12 abuts against the shoulder 15 of the body 11 and engages with the annular flange 14. Then, welding is carried out to bond the annular abutting section 16 and the shoulder 15 together, forming a golf club head.

The striking plate 12 and the body 11 must be manufactured with high precision to avoid generation of gaps after bonding. Nevertheless, if the striking plate 12 and the body 11 are manufactured with a low-cost casting procedure, the precision tolerances of castings of the striking plate 12 and the body 11 are easily affected by temperature change. Troublesome CNC mechanical milling on the annular abutting section 16 and the shoulder 15 is required for precise engagement before bonding. The golf club head cannot be produced economically.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head including a body and a striking plate that can be manufactured with a lower precision requirement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head that can be manufactured with a simplified process.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head that can be manufactured at a low cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head with improved bonding quality.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club head with lowered striking noise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a golf club head comprises a body and a striking plate. The body includes a front side having a recessed portion. The striking plate includes a front side for striking golf balls and a rear side. At least one groove is defined in one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate. At least one plastic protrusion is formed on the other of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate. When assembling the striking plate and the body, the plastic protrusion deforms under pressure to form an engaging portion that is engaged in the groove, thereby securely engaging the striking plate with the body.

The groove and the plastic protrusion are preferably slantingly V-shaped. Preferably, the protrusion includes a pointed section located in an opening of the groove when assembling the striking plate with the body.

In an embodiment, the groove is defined in the front side of the body and the plastic protrusion is formed on the rear side of the striking plate.

In another embodiment, the groove is defined in the rear side of the striking plate and the plastic protrusion is formed on the front side of the body. The body further includes a positioning groove and a positioning flange. The rear side of the striking plate includes a positioning flange that is engaged in the positioning groove of the body. The positioning flange of the striking plate is securely held in place by the positioning flange of the body.

An auxiliary plastic protrusion is formed on one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate. The auxiliary plastic protrusion is adjacent to and extends along an outer perimeter of one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate. The auxiliary plastic protrusion is deformable to form a gap-filling portion for filling gaps between the body and the striking plate. The auxiliary plastic protrusion is located on an outer side of the plastic protrusion. The plastic protrusion extends to an extent greater than the auxiliary plastic protrusion.

The plastic protrusion and the groove extend continuously or discontinuously.

The golf club head may be an iron club head, a wooden club head, or a putter.

In an embodiment, the striking plate is substantially U-shaped in section and bent to form an annular supporting wall to improve elastic deformability of the striking plate. In this case, the groove is defined in one of the front side of the body and a bottom face of the annular supporting wall, and wherein the plastic protrusion is formed on the other of the front side of the body and the bottom face of the annular supporting wall.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional golf club head;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded partial sectional view of the first embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention before bonding;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the first embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention after bonding;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the first embodiment of the golf club head after finishing;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded partial sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the golf club head before bonding;

FIG. 10 is an exploded partial sectional view of a fifth embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention before bonding; and

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of the fifth embodiment of the golf club head after bonding and finishing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a first embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention comprises a body 2 and a striking plate 3. The body 2 is made of a metal material with a relatively higher rigidity, such as stainless steel, low-carbon steel, or alloy steel. The body 2 includes a front side in which a recessed portion 22 is defined, with an engaging face 21 surrounding a front opening of the recessed portion 22. A substantially slantingly V-shaped groove 211 is defined in the engaging face 21. The V-shaped groove 211 is adjacent to and extends along the outer perimeter of the body 2. The V-shaped groove 211 inclines toward the recessed portion 22 or the outer perimeter of the body 2. The recessed portion 22 provides a buffering space for the striking plate 3 that deforms rearward when striking a golf ball. A hosel 23 is provided on a side of the body 2 (preferably a side of the recessed portion 22) for engaging with a shaft (not shown).

Still referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the striking plate 3 is generally made of a metal or alloy with a high coefficient of restitution and with a relatively lower rigidity, such as titanium alloy or stainless steel. The striking plate 3 includes a front side for striking golf balls and a rear side on which a plastic protrusion 31 and an auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 are formed. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the plastic protrusion 31 is located on an inner side of the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 that is adjacent to and extends along an outer perimeter of the striking plate 3. The plastic protrusion 31 and the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 are substantially slantingly V-shaped. Further, the plastic protrusion 31 extends to an extent greater than the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32. The plastic protrusion 31 inclines inward or outward to mate with the V-shaped groove 211 of the body 2. The auxiliary protrusion 32 inclines toward the outer perimeter of the body 2.

The plastic protrusion 31 and the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 are relatively small. Thus, the plastic protrusion 31 and the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 plastically deform slightly under pressure. Before bonding, a pointed section 311 of the plastic protrusion 31 is located within an opening of the V-shaped groove 211 of the body 2, and a pointed section 321 of the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 is located in an area of the engaging face 21 between the V-shaped groove 211 and the outer perimeter of the body 2.

During engagement, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the rear side of the striking plate 3 is engaged with the front side of the body 2, with the plastic protrusion 31 aligning with the V-shaped groove 211 and with the auxiliary protrusion 32 aligning with the engaging face 21. A downward force is then applied to the striking plate 3. Since the pointed section 311 of the plastic protrusion 31 is located within an opening of the V-shaped groove 211 of the body 2, the plastic protrusion 31 enters the V-shaped groove 211 easily. The plastic protrusion 31 deforms plastically, forming an engaging portion 31′ that is securely engaged in the V-shaped groove 211.

Further, since the pointed section 321 of the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 is located in the engaging face 21, the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 deforms plastically, forming a gap-filling portion 32′ to assure that no gap exists in a bonding area between the striking plate 3 and the body 2.

After initial engagement, adhering, brazing, or welding can be carried out. Further, the protruded gap-filling portion 32′ can be removed by finishing, obtaining a golf club head. Thus, the tolerance precision requirement can be lowered, as the minimum requirement is to assure that the pointed section 311 of the plastic protrusion 31 is located within an opening of the V-shaped groove 211 of the body 2. The manufacturing process is simplified and the manufacturing cost is cut.

FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the golf club head in accordance with the present invention, wherein the V-shaped groove 211 includes a plurality of spaced V-shaped groove sections, and the plastic protrusion 31 includes a plurality of spaced plastic protrusion sections. Nevertheless, the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 is continuous. Each plastic protrusion section of the plastic protrusion 31 has a length slightly smaller than that of an associated V-shaped groove section of the V-shaped groove 211. The tolerance precision requirement is further reduced and the force applied to the striking plate 3 may be reduced, providing improved convenience for bonding. Similar to the first embodiment, the auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 is provided to avoid generation of gaps in the bonding area between the striking plate 3 and the body 2, thereby improving the bonding quality and improving the qualified product rate.

FIG. 7 illustrates a third embodiment of the invention, wherein the club head is a wooden club head while the club heads in the first and second embodiments are iron club heads. Further, it is noted that the combination of a body and a striking plate in accordance with the present invention can be applied to a putter.

In this embodiment, the striking plate 3 is substantially U-shaped in section. Further, the striking plate 3 is bent to form an annular supporting wall 33 for improving the elastic deformability of the striking plate 3. Further, a plastic protrusion 31 and an auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 are formed on a bottom face of the annular supporting wall 33 for bonding with the V-shaped grooves 211 and the engaging face 21 of the body 2. Thus, the striking plate 3 can be reliably bonded with the body 2 by plastic deformation, simplifying the manufacturing procedure and cutting the manufacturing cost.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the invention modified from the first embodiment, wherein the striking plate 3 is substantially U-shaped in section and bent to form an annular supporting wall 33 for improving the elastic deformability of the striking plate 3. Further, a plastic protrusion 31 and an auxiliary plastic protrusion 32 are formed on a bottom face of the annular supporting wall 33 for bonding with the V-shaped grooves 211 and the engaging face 21 of the body 2. Thus, the striking plate 3 can be reliably bonded with the body 2 by plastic deformation, simplifying the manufacturing procedure and cutting the manufacturing cost.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a fifth embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the golf club head includes a body 4 and a striking plate 5. The body 4 includes a recessed portion 42, a positioning groove 41 surrounding the recessed portion 42, a positioning flange 43, a plastic protrusion 44, and an auxiliary plastic protrusion 45. A positioning flange 51, an engaging face 52, and a groove 53 are formed on a rear side of the striking plate 5.

In assembly, the positioning flange 51 of the striking plate 5 is engaged with the positioning groove 41, with the positioning flange 43 securely holding the positioning flange 51. A pointed section 441 of the plastic protrusion 44 of the body 4 abuts against a wall delimiting the groove 53. Next, the pointed section 441 of the plastic protrusion 44 deforms plastically and forms an engaging portion 44′ that is securely engaged in the groove 53. The auxiliary plastic protrusion 45 plastically deforms and forms a gap-filling portion, which is similar to the first embodiment. Thus, the striking plate 5 can be reliably bonded with the body 4 by plastic deformation, simplifying the manufacturing procedure and cutting the manufacturing cost.

While the principles of this invention have been disclosed in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that these descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and that any modification and variation without departing the spirit of the invention is intended to be covered by the scope of this invention defined only by the appended claims. 

1. A golf club head comprising: a body comprising a front side including a recessed portion; a striking plate including a front side for striking golf balls and a rear side; at least one groove defined in one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate; and at least one plastic protrusion formed on the other of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate; wherein when assembling the striking plate and the body, said at least one plastic protrusion deforms under pressure to form an engaging portion that is engaged in said at least one groove, thereby securely engaging the striking plate with the body.
 2. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one groove is slantingly V-shaped.
 3. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one plastic protrusion is slantingly V-shaped.
 4. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one plastic protrusion includes a pointed section located in an opening of said at least one groove when assembling the striking plate with the body.
 5. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one groove is defined in the front side of the body and said at least one plastic protrusion is formed on the rear side of the striking plate.
 6. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one groove is defined in the rear side of the striking plate and said at least one plastic protrusion is formed on the front side of the body.
 7. The golf club head as claimed in claim 6 wherein the body further includes a positioning groove and a positioning flange, the rear side of the striking plate including a positioning flange that is engaged in the positioning groove of the body, and the positioning flange of the striking plate being securely held in place by the positioning flange of the body.
 8. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 further including an auxiliary plastic protrusion formed on said one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate, the auxiliary plastic protrusion being adjacent to and extends along an outer perimeter of said one of the front side of the body and the rear side of the striking plate, the auxiliary plastic protrusion being deformable to form a gap-filling portion for filling gaps between the body and the striking plate.
 9. The golf club head as claimed in claim 8 wherein the auxiliary plastic protrusion is located on an outer side of said at least one plastic protrusion.
 10. The golf club head as claimed in claim 8 wherein said at least one plastic protrusion extends to an extent greater than the auxiliary plastic protrusion.
 11. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one plastic protrusion and said at least one groove extend continuously.
 12. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one plastic protrusion and said at least one groove extend discontinuously.
 13. The golf club head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the golf club head is one of an iron club head, a wooden club head, and a putter.
 14. The golf club head as claimed in claim 13 wherein the striking plate is substantially U-shaped in section and bent to form an annular supporting wall to improve elastic deformability of the striking plate.
 15. The golf club head as claimed in claim 14 wherein said at least one groove is defined in one of the front side of the body and a bottom face of the annular supporting wall, and wherein said at least one plastic protrusion is formed on the other of the front side of the body and the bottom face of the annular supporting wall. 